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Tubby Time has run out in Minnesota

Call it the straw that broke the camel’s back, call it the last straw, use whatever euphemism you’d like but Sunday’s thrashing at Iowa finally did it for me and Tubby Smith. For the first time in his six-year tenure as the head coach at Minnesota I think it’s time for the Gophers to consider other options.

It’s a little odd that I feel this passionately about it considering that less than 18 hours ago I was staunchly defending Tubby in front of some friends and imploring that they let the season play out. “Let’s not let jump to conclusions,” I said. “Who else could even be out there?” I rhetorically asked.

Even in the face of consecutive meltdowns the past two seasons I’ve been in Tubby’s camp. I thought he was unfairly criticized for things out of his control like injuries, transfers and just plain bad luck. How can you hold a guy’s feet to the fire when Trevor Mbakwe tears his ACL, for instance? How can you fault him for losing Devoe Joseph to an Oregon transfer? I thought he was doing good things when he had a full team of healthy players and thought he offered Minnesota the best chance to win a lot of games. I felt this way up until halftime on Sunday in Iowa City. Even before then I was cautioning that we need to let this season play out and see what he’s capable of. But it’s just not possible to look at his performance objectively any longer.

This season was the one I’ve been intent on judging him. He’d underachieved in past years and missed the tournament. But, again, he wasn’t playing with a full deck in my eyes and I thought he did good things at the end of the 2012 season. This year he had a dominant senior frontcourt and strong starting guards. He had a talented team that was capable of doing damage, which meant it was finally put up or shut up time. And for the first two and half months of the year it was definitely a “put up” performance.

But the destruction at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes, a solid but unspectacular team, has cemented my view of Smith’s inability to properly bring this team to where it needs to be. I’ve had fears that he was overmatched dating back to the first Wisconsin game, and I thought (hoped?) that it was just a blip on the radar. And since then it’s been a fairly steady collection of clueless offense, immaturity and a fragile psyche is that so far beyond simple on-court execution that it can only be attributed to a breakdown at the coaching level. Because of that high-level breakdown I’m not confident that this team can ever achieve greater results than what we’ll see this season. This is Tubby’s most talented team and, should this season continue, they look to be no better than a 7-10 seed in the tournament. A finish like that is simply inexcusable.

Lack of preparation

It’s a rash reaction to a team that is isn’t playing particularly awful, which might seem odd. I mean, can you really call for a guy’s head when he leads his team to the tournament and has his best season to date? When you consider the season relative to past performances at the beginning of his tenure and the merely slight improvement, then yes. And while there are a bevy of problem facing this team, almost all of them trace back to Tubby’s consistently unprepared offensive schemes. This isn’t about recruiting, this isn’t about the lack of a practice facility. This is about being unable to get the most from a team as a head coach.

This, first and foremost, is the biggest gripe that comes with Tubby. He’s a defense-first coach and he does that well. The problems come when the Gophers have the ball and are the biggest reason the Gophers have fallen on such hard times. They simply aren’t prepared to face a defense that puts them out of their comfort zone. That was put on full display against Iowa’s zone defense yesterday. Minnesota jumped out to a 21-5 lead. They were smoking the Hawkeyes. Then Fran McCaffery deployed his Game Genie, entered a cheat code, and started using the magical 2-3 zone. It was over from there. Minnesota hadn’t the faintest idea how to attack it, how to break it down, even how to get started approaching it. The zone defense came out and Minnesota shut down. In fact, they barely even scored the rest of the game. That type of breakdown is not on the players; that failure falls squarely on the shoulders of the coach for the inability to properly prepare them to face a fairly ordinary defense.

So what? It’s one game, right? Wrong. This has become a frightening pattern – the inability of the Gophers to react to changes in the game or even flat out prepare for it. For six years the Northwestern 1-3-1 zone has utterly stumped Tubby Smith. It’s stupefying, not to mention painful to watch. And, while it’s sometimes effective as a gimmick against other teams, Minnesota just can’t solve it. They haven’t won at Northwestern since 2008. Iowa is fine with the 1-3-1 zone, they know what to do. The Wildcats don’t even use it against Illinois because it’s been so ineffective. But there are the good ol’ Gophers and their clueless offense, where it works like a charm.

Here’s my point, and I hope I can clearly convey this so it doesn’t seem too knee-jerk: Tubby Smith has now shown time and time again that he is incapable of properly preparing his teams to consistently execute a successful offense against good teams. In short, he is consistently unprepared and it’s shows quite often. It’s no longer a matter of simply waiting to see if he can somehow figure it out and get into a groove. He has failed to show that he can teach his players to do things like attack a 2-3 zone, run an offense that scores points consistently, or properly utilize its strengths effectively and get the job done. It’s not about one game, it’s about a pattern of ineptitude. And if this is the peak of his ability, with his best team to date, it’s time to consider other options.

Possible drawbacks:

Firing a coach and moving on is not an easy decision. In fact, it sucks. Teams aren’t guaranteed an improvement, there is a whole lot of instability, and the payback is not quick, if it happens at all. With that said, there are some possible counterarguments:

All things considered, Tubby is having his best season of his tenure

After making a splash and bringing the Gophers back to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years, Smith has failed to return to the real postseason for two years now, with considerable talent at his disposal. That said, barring a meltdown this season (read: losses to Penn State and Nebraska), then the Gophers will likely enter the NCAA Tournament with a higher seed than they ever have under Smith. Can you really fire a guy who is on the upswing?

The short answer is yes, as illogical as it might seem. Look, this is far and away Tubby’s most talented team. A team that, with even a slight clue of how to execute a half-court offense, should be in the top third of the Big Ten this year. But, they’re not. Next year doesn’t get any better talent wise, meaning that this is likely the peak for Minnesota and Tubby for awhile. Is this what we’re happy with? A coach that finishes as a 9-seed with top-20 talent? Sure, it’s his best season to date, but it’s all relative. If he’s incapable of getting this particular team to properly utilize its talent, then what hope do we have when he needs to squeeze more ability out of a team that doesn’t quite have it? It’s been a pattern of coaching DOWN teams recently; not up. And if the Gophers are going to make the tournament in spite of his abilities, then what can we possibly expect down the road?

It’s easy to fire a coach, but who do you expect to replace him?

Fans often fall into the trap of thinking that teams can just go to Coaches R Us and grab someone whenever they feel like it. Finding a talented coach looking for a new job isn’t all that simple, and there’s no guarantee that a new coach will have any sort of positive impact. It’s a valid concern, but one that I don’t think holds all that much water when you take a closer look. To my point above, Tubby is underachieving with a stellar group of players and by all accounts is going to enter the postseason with a team competing below expectations. And it’s hard to be content with where they’re likely to finish. Considering the expectations going into this season that’s something I’m not okay with, and certainly don’t have any confidence that he can perform magic with a team next year that is losing it’s talented senior frontcourt. If you don’t have confidence in your coach then what’s the point? Lack of results combined with lack of confidence means that it’s time for a change. Especially after six seasons that haven’t shown a whole lot of growth.

Look, being in the NCAA Tournament is a big deal and I’m excited for the Gophers to (probably) be there. But at this point it’s not enough to be an 8-seed. It’s not enough to limp into the postseason. We’ve done this several times before — it’s not getting the job done and we should demand more. Really, what’s the difference between limping into the tournament as a low-seed and missing it altogether? If you have a coach like Tubby where you know exactly what you’re getting then my point is that we’re not missing a whole lot. If his peak with this team is coming in as an under-seeded at-large participant then we’ve come to a crossroads: accept mediocrity or roll the dice. Bringing in some new coaching blood, then, isn’t as much of a risk; the difference between mediocrity and an early tournament exit is increasingly negligible.

But what about the 2014 recruiting class?

This is probably the strongest counterargument to showing Tubby the door. For those not really into recruiting the 2014 high school class in Minnesota is highly sought after. Tyus Jones of Apple Valley is the nation’s number one recruit, Rashad Vaughn of Robbinsdale Cooper is also in the top ten. Reid Travis of DeLaSalle is in the top 50. It’s a crazy-talented recruiting class that has the potential to propel the Gophers to the next level should they be able to land at least one of them. And Minnesota is still on each of their lists.

Is an unstable program with a new coach the place that a blue chip recruit wants to go? Probably not. But, really, who’s to say they are planning on coming here with Tubby at the helm anyways?. Tyus Jones, while attainable, is a low-probability. Rashad Vaughn has a good relationship with the Gophers, but also has offers from Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse. Reid Travis is still trying to decide whether or not he wants to play football for a living. It’s a mess of a situation even with Tubby still in place as the head coach. I’d argue that potential recruits shouldn’t play a huge role in determining the overall direction of the program from a coaching standpoint. It’s not like underachieving from year to year does a whole lot to impress the recruits anyways, does it? And who’s to say they wouldn’t like the idea of helping revive a program? Again, the muddiness of the situation means it shouldn’t be a huge factor in determining Tubby’s future and structure of the coaching staff.

So now what?

I fully realize the implications of finding a new head coach and letting a fairly talented one go. Really, the Gophers are in a much better position right now than they were six years ago and Tubby has, at the very least, brought the Gophers into the top half, talent-wise, in the Big Ten. That’s nothing to scoff at. But I’ve grown tired of armchair coaching. I’m tired of second-guessing our own head coach on things as simple as substitution processes. I’m tired of wondering why this team has, for the past several years, looked pathetic in a half-court offense. Their ineptitude in that respect is all coaching, and it’s gotten to the point where it’s a liability. They are losing games because they don’t have a clue on offense. That has to change and Tubby has not proven that he capable of driving that transformation.

If this is the peak then it’s time for new leadership. There’s something to be said about being content with what you have, and looking forward to 20-win seasons is certainly something to consider. But I’d rather rebuild and have the chance of finding a coach who will bring this program to where we want it to be than settle for mediocre seasons that see us at 8-10 and sneaking into the tournament as a bubble team. Regardless of how the rest of the season turns out, Tubby Smith has proven that he is not that man to elevate the program to that level.

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11 thoughts on “Tubby Time has run out in Minnesota”

Iowa loss on Saturday – RIDICULOUS! Tubby this was the first time the other team threw a zone defense at you?? HELLO Steve Alford! HELLO Flip Saunders! Alford is a Big Ten guy – it’s a match! He’s proven he can recruit and win! You’re killing my Gopher pride Tubby! You have got a great team – as good as any in the Country but it’s quickly going to waste! Why did you start taking out your starters on Saturday when you were up 16???

You are kidding yourself if you think this team is going to the NCAA. An 8-10 big 10 record is the best possible outcome now, and worse is possible. Teams do not get
bids when they have losing conf. records and end 4-10
after 4-0 starts.

I agree with a lot of what zipsofakron is saying. I believe the Gophers are not prepared and it has been an issue all year. Another point I’d like to make and I’ve said this before. For some reason our players seem to regress with years of service. Usually when a player comes in as a freshman there’s a learning curve and they get better with each year they play. With the Gophers its the other way around. A player comes in and shows some skills and as the players career goes on they seem to go into a shell and actually get worse. Prime example is Ralph Sampson the 3rd. He was horrible his senior year. Julian Welch is another player that has gotten worse with time. He has no confidence in his game and he could play when he first came to the gophers, Maverick Ahimisi is in his third year and is playing like a freshman. Also you have a player like Rodney Williams who can dunk the ball but really hasn’t added anything to his game over his 4 years at Minnesota. There’s no reason why he couldn’t have added a respectable jump shot to his game. Same can be said for Joe Coleman. He needs to have some type of jump shot but he looks so uncomfortable shooting the ball. Mo Walker is in his 3rd year and he had game when he came in as a freshman. Yes he had the knee injury but that was almost 2 years ago. Its sad to see how timid he has gotten. A big young kid like that and he plays so weak. I thought Otto Oshiniks came in as a shooter but he can’t hit the broad side of a barn.

The one area I have a bit of disagreement with zipsofrakon is the talent level. Tuby has been able to recruit the 3 star player. If you look at schools in the top 25 you’ll see they always get the hire rated recruit then what Minnesota is able to get and a lot of that has to do with the facilities where the gophers play, practice, and live. All the other schools have newer facilities to play in. I think the barn has lost some of its appeal and it isn’t as nice as a lot of other arena’s around the country. You may not think this makes a difference but when you’re a 19 year old kid and you walk into a newer arena and a newer locker room that’s all decked out this leaves an impression on you. Also if you compare the living arrangements to Minnesota’s you’ll find we are way behind. You can say that we are giving these kids scholarships and they should be happy to get that but the truth is they make a lot of money for the University athletics and every time there on national tv its like a commercial for our university and our state. Also you have to realize that these other universities are providing the players with these perks and that’s just a fact.

I think the big question we need to ask is Tuby getting the most out of the talent he is able to recruit. If you look at this year it would appear he isn’t getting the most out of the talent he has.

The only other thing I would add is some of this is up to the seniors on the team. I think there is a real lack of leadership from the seniors. You get the feeling some of them don’t really care if they win or lose. That being said Mbakwe has done his part on the court I just don’t know if he has the respect of his teammates. There are some bright spots with the Hollins boys and Elliot Eliason. I think the one thing we are really missing is a good point guard to run the team and this has been the same problem we’ve had for the past 4 years.

Mike Rose – I disagree with your assessment that 8-10 is the Gophers best conference record. They could still go 3-2, beating Nebraska, Penn State, and Purdue. And if they happen to lose one of those, with a good effort at home, they might even surprise Indiana. I’m not saying they WILL, I’m just saying it’s very possible. Also, they didn’t start 4-0. They were 3-0 and then lost their 4th.

C Walton- Gophers offense is not effective right now because of several factors. Rodney Williams is Hurt They need him it point average more points in the paint. his offense reb average is down about and ppg down 6 points on average. 2 )they are throwing disguised double teams against Gopher best two scorer in Dre Hollins and Mbkawe Forcing others to score. Secondly it get Dre hollins in foul trouble early is forcing Austin hollins to take tougher 3 pt shots and thats when the zone is killing most because Dre and Austin are the best 2 3pt shoot
Joe Coleman has to step up Offensively and Defensively his is falling a sleep on back door cuts and its breaking down interior defense . If Joe does find his game and Rodney does heal. Dre Austin and Trevor are not gonna be able to do it with the bench.. 90 pct of turnover are when the bench is in the game this year. NO TUBBYS FAULT coaches can only coach player have to play!!! I have no doubts this team will be Elite 8 or Final Four if they can get healthy!!

Tubby never could coach offense, he’s strictly a defensive coach. He had on one team two of the best PG’s in the country with Rajon Rondo and Patrick Sparks, and Kentucky still couldn’t execute a half-court offense. Good players wouldn’t come to Kentucky because the offense stunk so bad. UK held on to him for a lot longer (10 years) than they should have and still were called racist when Tubby QUIT. I’m glad he’s your problem now. And for what he’s being paid the University of Minnesota is being screwed big-time. Wise up gophers and find a good, or at least decent coach, and save yourselves a lot of money.

I am down here in florida and i meet a guy from Kentucky and I ask him why Kentucky parted ways with Tubby. He simply said that the 1st time a team sees Tubby’s team, they have difficulty with them. The 2nd time they play them, the opposition knows exactly what Tubby will do in a situation. Game set match. Tubby just can’t coach on the fly. End of quote.

I agree. I have Fox Sports North down here in Florida and I was excited to be able to see the Gophers and the Timberwolves. Now all I do is read or watch the Pawn Shop.

Great article, have been saying this all year. Even when they were 15-1. As a former coach, I felt the weakness in the offensive game and it was going to show during the Big Ten. The man has no clue! Look at the out-of-bounds situations today and it makes you sick! Turnovers from a veteran team! It’s leadership that we need. And let’s get rid of this Hockey mentality when substituting. Time for Tubby and Sol to hit the road. Will still be pulling for my Gophers. Benn a long love affair. Garmaker, Mencel, and Big Boots for starters. Thanks for the article.